Sometimes, spaces look playful... but you can't actually play in them.image: reddit​

Don't get me wrong. I love ball pits as much as the next guy. I spent pretty much every afternoon of my childhood at Chuck E. Cheese (and, unlike kids today, I actually got to run around and play by myself while the parents drank pitchers of beer). I'm all about play, and I'm stoked that so many Silicon Valley startups want ball pits.

But here's the thing: many designers and office managers think their job is complete once they've got that ball pit installed.

Growing up, I spent at least a week -- usually more! -- almost every summer in Upstate New York. And there are countless amazing things to do there: hiking Taughannock Falls; swimming at Buttermilk Falls; getting in (or on) the lake; and wine trails, to name a few.

"Too early is the same as wrong, too late'll make you miss the train," I sing in my totally non-pretentious original, "Too Early (The Startup Song)."

It's based on an old saying that describes failed startups like SixDegrees.com (the original social network), GO Corporation (the original Palm Pilot -- and, arguably, iPhone and iPad), and LoudCloud (the original Amazon Web Services). And also the Halloween costume I wore last year.

In many ways, Palo Alto, CA, is a paradise. This wealthy Silicon Valley town is built on the backs of tech companies like Google, Facebook, Palantir, and countless others. But with the explosive growth of these companies have come some serious problems.

Housing is unaffordable to all but a few. Traffic is horrific. And many people get terrible cell coverage, because Palo Alto lacks the infrastructure to sustain its population.

There's a perceived formula to "success" in today's world. We've all heard it:

You work hard in middle school so you can get into a good high school. Then you work hard in high school to get the grades, leadership roles and volunteer hours required to get into a good college -- often with the help of private tutors and coaches. Then you go to college so you can take the right classes and do the right extracurriculars to get a "good job" that pays well.

Which is probably why teenagers and young adults are more anxious and depressed than ever. And also why the majority -- literally, the majority -- of graduates from America's top schools do one of six things: finance, consulting, law, medicine, Teach for America or grad school.